Warning . This DIY is not for the inexperienced. If you have never disassembled a laptop( and get it back together working) or worked with custom DC power applications you'll want to follow the "do not try this at home" rule. It will require some fabrication skills as well, drilling and making brackets. Once I have this perfected I'll be offering a send in MOD service.
First I need to get a Dock, I have to keep mine intact as I use it daily with my demos and android integration services. If you want yours modded for free let me know. I will guarantee you will get yours back either in the condition it was sent or working with the MOD.
For the modders following along, assumed steps.
1. Remove feet from bottom of dock. Guessing assembly screws are there.
2. Disassemble dock and look for space somewhere along the edge to add a small barrel adapter.
3. Find power leads to the battery and solder extension wires.
4. Test that extension takes charge and that factory connector still works to charge
5. Fabricate bracket for connector
6. Drill edge of case to expose connector.
Let's hope it is this simple. =]
DevCake said:
Warning . This DIY is not for the inexperienced. If you have never disassembled a laptop( and get it back together working) or worked with custom DC power applications you'll want to follow the "do not try this at home" rule. It will require some fabrication skills as well, drilling and making brackets. Once I have this perfected I'll be offering a send in MOD service.
First I need to get a Dock, I have to keep mine intact as I use it daily with my demos and android integration services. If you want yours modded for free let me know. I will guarantee you will get yours back either in the condition it was sent or working with the MOD.
For the modders following along, assumed steps.
1. Remove feet from bottom of dock. Guessing assembly screws are there.
2. Disassemble dock and look for space somewhere along the edge to add a small barrel adapter.
3. Find power leads to the battery and solder extension wires.
4. Test that extension takes charge and that factory connector still works to charge
5. Fabricate bracket for connector
6. Drill edge of case to expose connector.
Let's hope it is this simple. =]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a dang good idea...I should have thought of this earlier! Looking at the dock, it looks like the bezel is clipped in as well. Also, the "clamp" part of the dock has some screws in it. Mechanism might be a little bit more complicated but hopefully not. You're going to need an awfully thing barrel connector to make this work. The Bezel is about the same thickness as the TF's bezel.
verkion
It is an excellent idea!
But I'm thinking. If you can do this on the dock, couldn't you also do it on the TF itself?
glg
glgehman said:
It is an excellent idea!
But I'm thinking. If you can do this on the dock, couldn't you also do it on the TF itself?
glg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure there will be no room in the tab to do it, would be great if you could though!
Think I am going to try this mod. Ordered 2nd dock. If I go over-my-head I will contact DevCake for help.
The issue with barrel plug on TF tablet is what to do when dock is attached?
The advantage of barrel plug on dock is charging both dock and tablet, eliminating the need for any proprietary 40 pin cable (because doc has its own), and if you want to screw around the dock costs less (still $150USD is a lot, but less compared to a spare $40USD charger). Still need to consider what to do if barrel plug charging and something plugs into 40pin connector.
I also plan to put in a slide switch to disconnect the dock battery from the tablet entirely to save juice when shut down. E.g. reports of doc losing power when attached. This could extend the stand-by life of the dock for a week or more.
Once the thing is opened up, it might be a good time to discuss placements. Everyone has different and great ideas. I have a digital caliper to measure stuff.
Bob Smith42 said:
Think I am going to try this mod. Ordered 2nd dock. If I go over-my-head I will contact DevCake for help.
The issue with barrel plug on TF tablet is what to do when dock is attached?
The advantage of barrel plug on dock is charging both dock and tablet, eliminating the need for any proprietary 40 pin cable (because doc has its own), and if you want to screw around the dock costs less (still $150USD is a lot, but less compared to a spare $40USD charger). Still need to consider what to do if barrel plug charging and something plugs into 40pin connector.
I also plan to put in a slide switch to disconnect the dock battery from the tablet entirely to save juice when shut down. E.g. reports of doc losing power when attached. This could extend the stand-by life of the dock for a week or more.
Once the thing is opened up, it might be a good time to discuss placements. Everyone has different and great ideas. I have a digital caliper to measure stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go for it Bob,
I don't think installing the barrel connector on the Tablet is a good idea either.
I wouldn't place the connector on the front so the sides IMO are the best location but that will become clear when we see the innards.
The addition of the 40 pin connector while the barrel connector is charging is a big part of the mod. Bridging the power over to the barrel puts both power sources in parallel and this can be bad. When you attach 2 power sources in parallel that are of different voltage the voltage actually will travel to the lower voltage supply source and overload it. Remember any PC USB is 5V, not the 12 or 15 you will supply to the barrel so if the barrel is connected to the charger and the 40 pin is connected to the charger you will send more voltage back to the PC and BOOM! The universe will implode upon itself =/.
So how do we address the possibility of multiple power sources? either with a switch or an additional circuit that shuts one off when it see voltage from the other. The 3rd option is to disconnect power from the 40 pin which IMO is not an option, you want to keep that intact.
Bob if you frequent any DIY forums that deal with these kind of power MODS ask around about a circuit that will do this for you. You might want to start with RC forums, those guys know DC like no other. I'll start looking around but whatever we find needs to be small for sure.
Have you sourced some barrel connectors?
I would vote switch, just in case the circuit failed somehow. With a switch, you simply cant use both at the same time no matter what.
Good news.
I received my 2nd dock, and opened it. There are only two screws, under the rubber feet in the back by the hinge. These screws help support and hold the hinge in place. Run a plastic separator tool around the edge to open. I started in one back corner. It is tight in a few places. Do not bend the metal by the socket positions, where the metal is very thin and flexible. The front edge separates last (most difficult) using leverage of flapping open and closed the top/bottom pieces, and starting separation on one side.
I will post pictures soon. I took some and in the process of uploading. I have my digital caliper at the other office so measurements later.
There is a great position for a female socket for a barrel plug charger, behind the current charger and pointing to the back. It is between the hinge and a circuit board, so there is no leeway in width. The width is narrow, just under 5mm, so a socket needs to be thin. If we find a 4mm wide barrel socket, maybe 7mm or less high it should fit. Of course that makes a slim barrel.
UPDATE: On further consideration, we might trim up to 3-4mm of the hinge plate, giving up to 7-8mm square barrel socket.
The area between the battery (centered under the keyboard) and the back hinge is wide open. Literally room to drop in x4 sd cards end to end, and stack another row of x4 on top, with space left over. The entire space is about 5-10mm height. A switch can go anywhere in this area, mounted on the bottom face, which is protected by the protruding hinge.
I was thinking with all the USB ports, it might be worth considering loading up some internal USB devices later.
Bob Smith42 said:
Good news.
I received my 2nd dock, and opened it. There are only two screws, under the rubber feet in the back by the hinge. These screws help support and hold the hinge in place. Run a plastic separator tool around the edge to open. I started in one back corner. It is tight in a few places. Do not bend the metal by the socket positions, where the metal is very thin and flexible. The front edge separates last (most difficult) using leverage of flapping open and closed the top/bottom pieces, and starting separation on one side.
I will post pictures soon. I took some and in the process of uploading. I have my digital caliper at the other office so measurements later.
There is a great position for a female socket for a barrel plug charger, behind the current charger and pointing to the back. It is between the hinge and a circuit board, so there is no leeway in width. The width is narrow, just under 5mm, so a socket needs to be thin. If we find a 4mm wide barrel socket, maybe 7mm or less high it should fit. Of course that makes a slim barrel.
UPDATE: On further consideration, we might trim up to 3-4mm of the hinge plate, giving up to 7-8mm square barrel socket.
The area between the battery (centered under the keyboard) and the back hinge is wide open. Literally room to drop in x4 sd cards end to end, and stack another row of x4 on top, with space left over. The entire space is about 5-10mm height. A switch can go anywhere in this area, mounted on the bottom face, which is protected by the protruding hinge.
I was thinking with all the USB ports, it might be worth considering loading up some internal USB devices later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice!
Get some pics up !
One thing I would do is install another USB port and connect it directly to the battery so you can use the battery to charge other 5V devices without having to connect the TF.
I removed the circuit board, now, and pulled back some of the covering tape.
I will post pics tomorrow. Sorry. I want good sunlight of circuit board stuff, because I think that is where we will need to attach the barrel plug charger wires.
The charging socket on the dock has 20 solder points and it looks like up to 3? power lines (visual inspection). With my sub-mm solder iron I can attach wires to charge via a plug. At some point we will need to know at least the power positions on the cable/plug, especially the grounds.
I think we can simply cut into the x2 red and 2x black battery lines for a switch, or aux power. There are total 8 lines on battery, exactly like the tablet, and about 4 inches of exposed wires.
Full list of photos:
Plug showing depth behind battery & rubber spacer (7mm depth; 5.0mm battery, 2.0mm rubber spacer):
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Circuit board removed showing full hinge (back left):
Full keyboard under side:
Full bottom of dock with keyboard removed (large space between battery and back hinge):
Closeup of back left hinge and charging port (4.75mm between circuit board and hinge metal, 8mm between circuit board and hex nut on hinge):
Opposite to left hinge on keyboard side:
Back left hinge and charging port:
Keyboard under side (right half keyboard):
Keyboard under side (middle keyboard):
Keyboard under side (left half keyboard, side with power plug):
Bottom of dock (middle):
Bottom of dock (left):
Bottom of dock (right):
Bottom of dock (middle):
Bottom of dock (left):
Full keyboard underside with touch pad:
Full bottom of dock with keyboard removed:
Bottom of dock (left side, with power plug):
Bottom of dock (right back side, with USB port, large space between battery and hinge):
Bottom of dock (left back side, with power plug):
Under side of keyboard:
Bottom of dock, with keyboard removed:
Can u try to see if u can follow the usb ports to the 40 pin connector to see what points are for usb connection? That way we can follow up to the tablet and install a usb port in the tablet. There is plenty of room for one inside it
since the keyboard dock is opened, whats the battery rating in mah inside?
mlbl said:
since the keyboard dock is opened, whats the battery rating in mah inside?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The battery says:
ASUS LI-polymer Battery Pack C21-EP101
Rating: +7.4V =~ 3300mAh, 24Wh
It is 5.0mm thick, 137mm long, 104mm wide. It is wrapped in a black plastic bag-like cover, and the length at top seems empty when pressed - so about 20mm at the top is just a cover and not *battery*. The battery inside is closer to 5mm x 117mm x 104mm. There are two 2.0mm thick rubber spacers on top of the battery, running the full length and 29mm wide each.
Good to hear that. Thanks for the info
cowballz69 said:
Can u try to see if u can follow the usb ports to the 40 pin connector to see what points are for usb connection? That way we can follow up to the tablet and install a usb port in the tablet. There is plenty of room for one inside it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to use my fingers to easily slide out the battery plug on the circuit board. I will try to get some detailed photos of the circuit board today.
There are two groups of wires from the circuit board to the tablet plug. The silver colored is a shield and the black is unshielded. I was assuming the unshielded was USB, because USB lines do not *require* shielding - but, USB lines do require about 1 twist every 20mm or so. Also, I was assuming the shielded bits were keyboard & trackpad. But, I could be entirely wrong with these guesses.
One partial approach is to unplug both silver and black groups of wires and test continuity of each line from the tablet plug.
Tracing lines on the circuit board might be a good approach.
I was also going to test my cable, the USB end continuity against the 20 pin connector, and then plug in my cable to the port and test the matching solder points under the connector on the circuit board. Slightly safer now with battery removed.
Suggestions welcome as we go.
I am going to try something like this for the power jack: (See UPDATE below for correct component)
http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/1052051-conn-pwr-jack-0-65x2-6mm-smt-pj-038-smt.html
IMAGE REMOVED (I suggest you do NOT use the component seen in link above)
I ordered a variety of jacks to test. The "DX-UA Universal" has a 0.7mm ID, 2.35mm OD - Plug tip. I noticed the Motorola 10.1 tablet has a similar power plug, but unsure of their voltage.
==
UPDATE: I do *not* like the socket listed above, because it has an open bottom (hard to glue in place) and it is *not* tall enough. It is too short so if the charging plug is pushed up and down the socket can be pried loose, no matter how good it is glued in place.
Rather I prefer this other component:
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=CP-031HPJCT-ND
I reviewed about 10 various component models. The new choice, CP-031HPJCT-ND is:
(1) cheaper, shielded costs more and no benefit.
(2) taller, it fills the space between top and bottom of dock. Therefore, the screws holding the dock top/bottom together also hold it in place in addition to glue, e.g. it cannot be pried loose by impact on the charging plug.
(3) the hole is centered in the component, giving max strength to each side (other similar have a hole off center, which some might prefer but I do not, e.g. this CP1-022PJCT-ND is not as good in my opinion).
I will attempt to mount the preferred CP-031HPJCT-ND in the next few days, and advise of results. There are some mounting details that are required to successfully use these components, e.g. hole placement, electrical connection, positioning, etc..
guys... if we're already this in depth then why not just wire the power leads from the existing usb port in the dock over to the power/charging leads on the proprietary connector?
it would be far eaiser than adding a new connector/modding the case of the dock and would be even more "universal" since you could still charge with any usb adapter out there...
dmc971989 said:
guys... if we're already this in depth then why not just wire the power leads from the existing usb port in the dock over to the power/charging leads on the proprietary connector?
it would be far eaiser than adding a new connector/modding the case of the dock and would be even more "universal" since you could still charge with any usb adapter out there...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a good point but with some cons.
1. You still need to make or buy a cable to use an off the shelf universal charger.
2. That port will no longer supply power to any USB device you connect to it.
The main purpose of this mod is to be able to use almost any universal charger that is available so the extra work adding the new connector is worth it IMO.
Bob Smith42 said:
Full list of photos:
Plug showing depth behind battery & rubber spacer (7mm depth; 5.0mm battery, 2.0mm rubber spacer):
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice, looks like plenty of room in there.
So were you between flossing or is that flosser thing for something else =]
Related
http://www.craigsdocks.com/htc-rezound-car-dock-swivel-style/
Let me start off by saying I don't do a lot of reviews, forgive me if I suck at this, but I was compelled to do this one because I purchased the ibolt car dock from Verizon and was very disappointed so I found an alternative and want to prevent others from making the same mistake I did, being that the ibolt/Verizon dock is all I have to compare it to I will be doing so throughout the review.
Most of this info can be gathered from the video below so skip to that if you don't want to read this.
When I received my dock I was surprised most by all the extras it comes with, you receive a very long USB charge cable(good for hidden permanent routing#, 2 wire routing clips, 3 zip ties, plenty of extra double sided tape, 2 alcohol wipes
,and a metal wire to help remove the hard mount if you want to move it, and an alen/hex key for tightening the 2 set screws in set up.
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The dock itself is made of aluminum not plastic, and is an extremely simple design that once set up has only one moving part, anyone who works in any sort of mechanical field knows that this is a very good thing for durability.
The set up of the dock is more involved than just putting in the correct insert and going, but is not complicated at all. You have to set the depth of the cable block to match the depth of your phone with whatever case or extended battery set up you have, then the block is locked that position with double sided tape. The one draw back to this is that it is somewhat permanent and if you have different setups that change the thickness of your phone the position of the USB cable cannot easily be adjusted to match, you would have to remove the double sided tape, replace it, and reposition the block. I plan on using the same case/battery setup all the time so this is not an issue for me. You also set the depth of the microusb male plug itself so that it can reach the receiver in the phone, the plug may have to protrude more or less depending if your phone is naked or has a thick case, this is done with a simple set screw on the cable block. The other adjustment is the side stop which lines your phone up horizontally with the plug, this is also set with a simple set screw. Overall the set up of the dock itself took about 3 minutes.
Here is a video that shows the process of setting it up.
Mounting the dock. To mount the dock with the optional suction cup mount is self explanatory, I will say that the suction cup mount with this dock is a far better design than the ibolt, it seems much more sturdy and the range of articulation is much better. The dock does not come with this mount though it is extra, $9.99 I believe.
The dock does come with a hard mount block which is affixed to wherever you choose via double sided foam tape. Anyone worried about the tape not holding, DON'T. It is some sticky stuff, its not going anywhere. I used this mount and it is, like the dock, a very simple, sturdy design, no worries about it lasting.
Basically you figure out where you want it, stick it, tighten the dock to it and forget it. The one small draw back is that this mount does not articulate at all other than twisting from landscape to portrait. You will have to find a flat surface that is in a good place and at a good angle for viewing, I had several that would work fine and simply chose the one I liked best.
Looks. I think the dock looks great, it is very small and sleek, compared to other docks it looks like your phone is just floating free in space. When the phone is not in the dock its even more of a difference, there just isn't much to this thing so you don't even notice it there. Low profile would be the perfect term for it.
Clunky/bulky right? lol
If you have a Bluetooth set up it can look even cleaner, my wires are not set up totally yet.
I plan on routing the charging and audio cable completely hidden and even installing a hidden dedicated 12v outlet to power it.
Speaking of power. I used a generic 1A USB car charger. And as you can see from the picture below I was able to get a positive charge on the phone with the screen at full brightness 4g, gps, WiFi on, navigation running, transparent Pandora running w/ a live background, outputting through the headphones at max volume. The Ibolt without ridiculous modifications would be running at atleast -500mah in this set up.
In use The dock is very solid and sturdy, it does not bounce around on rough roads.
Mounting and unmounting the phone are done in a single fluid motion, it snaps right in and out without fail, I recall my ibolt needing a little wiggle every couple times to get it to sit on the plug. This is likely due to the one size fits all insert for a cased phone, not all cases are the same thickness, this dock adjusts to fit your phone in your specific case, both the depth to reach the plug and the depth of your phone are able to be set on the cable block so that the plug is in exactly the right place to accept your phone everytime.
Last but certainly not least, perhaps most importantly, it charges, cuz, uh yeah, its a dock, it should charge your phone.
Conclusion. Short and simple, if you don't plan on the thickness of your phone changing very often, and if you are not disgusted by the looks(which I don't get considering the alternative cheap plastic monstrosity), you should buy this dock, or wait for another one to become available because the ibolt/Verizon dock is junk.
http://www.craigsdocks.com/htc-rezound-car-dock-swivel-style/
+41mA? do you have any shots with it getting a full OVER +500mA charge?
Reportedly the same issue with some verizon docks was that it wouldn't give it the full charge and thus with GPS and other things on, there would sometimes be a net loss, or break even, but no charging happening actually.
it usually takes a minute for me to get the battery monitor widget to show the full charge happening.
Thanks..
thatsricci said:
+41mA? do you have any shots with it getting a full OVER +500mA charge?
Reportedly the same issue with some verizon docks was that it wouldn't give it the full charge and thus with GPS and other things on, there would sometimes be a net loss, or break even, but no charging happening actually.
it usually takes a minute for me to get the battery monitor widget to show the full charge happening.
Thanks..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This dock uses whatever USB charger you have, the dock simply holds the wire in the right place, it comes with a USB cable NOT a charger, the wire goes straight to your phone, it will charge exactly the same as without the dock. Regardless of what people may have reported I tested the ibolt/Verizon dock for 5 hours and it would not charge at all with a 1A charger as long as the screen was on, even at 10% with NOTHING else on or running but battery monitor widget.
If you read the review or look closely at the picture this is with the screen at 100%, GPS, 4g, wifi on, navigator and Pandora running with live wallpaper and media volume at Max outputting through the headphone Jack. The Verizon dock with the same 1a charger would be at atleast -500mA in the same situation. This dock will perform exactly the same as whatever charger you plug the USB cord into.
Watch the video.
Nice review, thanks for the write up and good pics. Is it mounted using that sticky foam tape where you have it under the vent? How much flat area does it need for the tape? Want to check where I might put it in my car.
Do you know if you can easily remove any residue if you later take it off? I'm not planning on selling my car any time soon and had my last phone for 4 years so it may be up there a while.
feralicious said:
Nice review, thanks for the write up and good pics. Is it mounted using that sticky foam tape where you have it under the vent? How much flat area does it need for the tape? Want to check where I might put it in my car.
Do you know if you can easily remove any residue if you later take it off? I'm not planning on selling my car any time soon and had my last phone for 4 years so it may be up there a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The mounting block is pretty small I would say 1"x3" at most.
I havent removed it so I dont know for sure about the residue, the video says it comes off well and when you look at the tape it seems like it would come off, its not gooey or anything so I imagine it will stay in one piece when it comes off unless maybe it gets really hot and melts down which of course is possible in a car. If I had to make a guess I would say it will come off pretty clean.
Hello Everyone,
First of all I would like to thank Kane for the great review!
The mounting block is 1 inch x 1-3/4 inch exactly ... its very small
The mounting tape stays somewhat soft, but not overly soft, in the video of my install you will see that I do take it off and peel it pretty much clean, then with a fingernail the rest comes off, that was after it had been on my dash for about 2 months, however if it were to tough to get it all you could heat it up with a hair dryer and pick it off with a fingernail but I don't think this step would be needed.
If you weren't ever going to want to flip the phone from landscape to portait you could even take the block and the screw out all together and put the extra tape I give you on the back of the dock itself and use the same amount of tape I used on the docking plate.
These car docks I make are time consuming to produce, these are all made by hand and on a milling machine so they are all within 1/1,000 of an inch of each other, I made them as tiny as I could possibly make them without compromising its holding ability.
My thoughts were if its in the car you dont want to be looking at some giant dock blocking your windshield or if mounted on dash have it blocking other controls, basically you want to see the phone not a dock so I tried to make it basically invisible.
Its easy to make things big, the challenge is making big things small lol
Thanks for the info!
I just looked at my car and I think there's one place it could work, right above the built in stereo/navi screen. Just curious how far it sticks out? Also, it's stationary other than rotating from landscape to portrait, right? So does it come straight out at a 90 degree angle from the mount surface of the dash? I've never used a dock before so I want to be sure I'll be okay with it.
Oh, one more thing... does the phone touch metal or is there any sort of material in there? If it touches metal would it be possible for me to glue on some felt lining? I may not use a case with my phone so I want to save it from any possible scuffing.
feralicious said:
Thanks for the info!
I just looked at my car and I think there's one place it could work, right above the built in stereo/navi screen. Just curious how far it sticks out? Also, it's stationary other than rotating from landscape to portrait, right? So does it come straight out at a 90 degree angle from the mount surface of the dash? I've never used a dock before so I want to be sure I'll be okay with it.
Oh, one more thing... does the phone touch metal or is there any sort of material in there? If it touches metal would it be possible for me to glue on some felt lining? I may not use a case with my phone so I want to save it from any possible scuffing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
The total distance it sticks out would be 2 1/4 inches max thats with mounting plate and swivel attached, from the dash to the back of the dock itself is a little less than 3/4 of an inch.
However your dash leans once the dock is mounted thats the exact way it would lean its a perfect 90 degree's (basically if your dash leans back at 45 degree's then your phone would lean that exact same degree since its a perfect 90)... since this dock with its mounting plate and swivel sticks out, it may be possible for it to hover over controls that dont stick out to far, like in the video I have a raised part on my dash and it hovers over it, once you have it in hand you will find places you didn't think it would fit.
Your phone never touches metal, I use a automotive grade flocking fibers (this is on the dock and the arms as well, nothing without this flocking ever touches your phone).
Whats flocking? ... I put on a special adhesive and then blow on soft flocking fibers, it actually looks like it grew out of the metal, I use this on all my docks, none of my docks will the phone ever touch metal, they always ride on the flocking.
If you look at the second picture on this thread (the side view one) you will be able to see these flocking fibers, only where your phone would ever touch the fibers are used, the rest is painted and smooth.
Thanks for the Question's
Cool. I am definitely going to check this out. Thank you for the great write up, pictures and review.
I have the same dock and am real happy with it except for one thing. I hook it up with the MHL HDMI adaptor to a video monitor screen and even using the stock a/c charger (I have a/c power in my truck) that puts out one amp, my battery still eventually runs down playing movies etc.
The bracket itself is awesome.
~John
Ordered April 12th, received today in the mail. Have not mounted it yet, but I'm impressed with the build quality so far. I'll update after installation.
EDIT: Now have this dock installed in my Yukon and it was very simple. A few adjustments, finding the right place to put it were easy. The included tape to stick it on the dash is plenty strong and holding very well after 2 whole days. The phone, with the extended battery, fits solid if you do the proper adjustments during setup, and hasn't even thought about falling out of the dock yet. I am happy with this purchase for now.
jmorton10 said:
I have the same dock and am real happy with it except for one thing. I hook it up with the MHL HDMI adaptor to a video monitor screen and even using the stock a/c charger (I have a/c power in my truck) that puts out one amp, my battery still eventually runs down playing movies etc.
The bracket itself is awesome.
~John
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sucks but it would be much worse with the verizon dock. On the same note Craigsdocks just sent me a "new improved cable" for free without even telling me, its a much heavier gauge wire it has some sort DIY splice at the end of it. Anyway my generic 1a car charger now charges better than the home charger that came with the phone. No exaggeration whatsoever, battery monitor widget has shown 1090mA while the screen was on. Not a typo 100%+ the rating of my charger is getting to my phone, I was running 4g, GPS, wifi on, screen at 90%, Pandora playing full volume, navigation searching for satellite, and syncing my accounts and I'm still getting between 300-500mA recorded charge. I literally CANT get anything real sustained readings under 300mA. I have heard even the stock wall charger can't keep up with MHL but I kid you not my crappy generic car charger is now more powerful than the home charger. Oh and it puts the phone in dock mode now, and shows charging in ac mode but I'm sure the old cable did too, not that it matters what mode it is if you are getting that kind of juice, call it USBeautiful mode.
Maybe they sent me the cable because I gave a good review or maybe they are sending them to everyone, BUT GET ONE even if its for another dock or just a charger.
Kane5581 said:
That sucks but it would be much worse with the verizon dock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well three things, his post is from Jan, the MHL adapter wouldn't work on the Verizon dock because it doesn't pass data and the dock has been fixed so it charges correctly now.
The reason the battery dies with the MHL adapter is the same reason the first round of Verizon docks didn't charge right, the data pins aren't shorted out so the phone thinks it's on a USB connection and only draws 500mA. The MHL can't be shorted out because it needs the data pins to transfer audio/video so there's really not much you can do about it. ibolt has update the Verizon dock to short the pins, the free replacement they sent me has no problem running GPS and music and still charge..
how secure is it with the extended battery? meaning, will it keep the phone in place just fine without worrying if it'll slip off if you're on a rough road/speed bumps/etc?
voxigenboy said:
how secure is it with the extended battery? meaning, will it keep the phone in place just fine without worrying if it'll slip off if you're on a rough road/speed bumps/etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have the extended battery but I have a regular tpu case on the phone and there is plenty of room left for a larger setup. It does not move period the way I have it I can't imagine it would be much different with the extended battery.
voxigenboy said:
how secure is it with the extended battery? meaning, will it keep the phone in place just fine without worrying if it'll slip off if you're on a rough road/speed bumps/etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have extended and it works just wonderfully. Has not fallen out yet.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
Thanks, I'm interested in one of these. Better than holding the phone while using the GPS!
trickster2369 said:
Ordered April 12th, received today in the mail. Have not mounted it yet, but I'm impressed with the build quality so far. I'll update after installation.
EDIT: Now have this dock installed in my Yukon and it was very simple. A few adjustments, finding the right place to put it were easy. The included tape to stick it on the dash is plenty strong and holding very well after 2 whole days. The phone, with the extended battery, fits solid if you do the proper adjustments during setup, and hasn't even thought about falling out of the dock yet. I am happy with this purchase for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you get the new cable? You would notice the splice towards the phone end, the old one didn't have that, it also puts the phone in dock mode where the old one didn't.
Kane5581 said:
Did you get the new cable? You would notice the splice towards the phone end, the old one didn't have that, it also puts the phone in dock mode where the old one didn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I did.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
A couple of months ago, one of my co-worker's Palm Pre phone attempted to swim in a pool and drowned (electronically anyway). My co-worker replaced it with a Samsung Galaxy S2 and when he got it he was complaining about how much he loved his Palm touchstone inductive charger. Basically you just stick the phone near a little hockey-puck thing and magnets align it and it starts charging without connecting any wires.
We thought about it and had this great idea to mod his new SGS2 phone and at the time we thought we were the first to think of this. So, I bought an inductive charging kit on Amazon and we both mod'd our phones and I'm very happy with the inductive charging system.
While lots of people have done it for lots of different phones, this thread is about the i777 and I haven't seen any mod instructions out there for the i777 SGS2.
First you need to get a Palm Pre inductive charging kit. Go to Amazon and search for a Palm Pre inductive charging kit. They run less than $10 including shipping (yeah, seriously, I couldn't believe it either). I paid $8.35 for mine. While you are there, get a Palm Pre AC adapter... the kit is finicky about the AC adapter and most of mine didn't work with it. So that's another $3.70 (inc. shipping), so you are now up to $12 or so.
Once you get it, it should look like this:
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And inside it looks like this:
Open the kit box, and you will see a touchstone that you stick on your desk that is the charger and then the Palm Pre case back cover with the inductive coil on it. Peel off the inductive coil very very carefully as well as the four silver circular magnets and try to leave everything intact. Set it aside because when you put it on you want the contacts to line up.
Now comes the fun part, taking apart the phone, soldering the wire, and then routing the wire.
To take apart the phone, your best bet is to watch a Youtube video (that's how I did it), but fundamentally, unscrew the 7 small silver screws and then carefully, use your fingernails (best) to work your way around the gap in the edge of the plastic. Or - if like me you don't really have much in the way of fingernails - use a guitar pick or a thin credit card... like a store shopper reward card. Slide it into the gap and work your way around... not too hard. Don't use anything metal or it will scuff the plastic. Just start in a corner and work your way around, be patient and don't try to take them apart until you've worked all the way around. And if this description doesn't make sense, then watch a i777 disassembly video on YouTube.
Once you are done, you need to solder a wire to a resistor at the bottom. There's a close up here:
You could try to solder to the VCC pin on the USB connector but it's tiny and I personally thought the resistor was much easier to solder to without risking shorting any pins. I suck at soldering so if I can do it, others can too. Just get a fine tip for your soldering iron, get it hot (but not red hot), put some solder on the wire, and then touch the iron to the wire and then the resistor quickly. Do it quickly to make sure you don't damage the resistor or the PCB. It took me three tries but I got it.
Then route the wire.
You can see the wire route. I routed right... if you are looking at it yourself, you might think the the left side looks better, but it's next to the antenna and I thought the right side was less risky. I routed down, across the speaker (the bare black gap at the bottom is where the speaker is), under the PCB, then crossed up, and then dodged the screw slot in the upper right of the battery compartment by tucking the wire under the plastic there. But you don't have to do it like this... do it any way you want (although I'd steer clear of the antenna), you just want to route from the VCC resistor at the botton up to wherever you want to put the contact.
For the ground connection, any of the screws, or the sim slot metal or anything else works. I used copper tape and just routed with the tape to the screw in above the upper right of the battery compartment. But it doesn't matter. The metal of the SIM card slot works too... whatever you want. Ground is easy.
When you are done, it should look like this (more or less):
I used copper tape ($5 from a hobby store, look in the jewelry section) for the contacts, then lined them up with the contacts from the Palm Pre coil by putting the stock cover with the coil onto the separated plastic from the phone and lining them up by looking at them together.
Yes, this mod is not easy, and it voids warranties, but it is magic every time you stick your phone on a touchstone and it just starts charging. I bought a touchstone for my car, and then one for my nightstand. For <$20, I have a car charger and a home charger and it's super easy to just put the phone near the touchstone and let the built-in magnets hook it up.
Things to be careful of:
Do not short anything. Make sure not to short VCC to ground on the USB connector
Do not flip the power connections. Make sure not to tie VCC on the inductor coil to ground in the phone and visa versa.
Don't damage the resistor when you solder to it. Be fast. But get a good connection too
I used a multimeter to check for shorts and to make sure that I got VCC -> VCC, GND -> GND.
Very nice, only problem I see is you should of posted to the accessories forum. But overall a very nice mod and the directions were clear.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium
Nice mod! Thanks for posting it up. What's the difference in charging time compared to charging via USB?
Sweet, the TouchStone has been one of my favorite features with my TouchPad. I saw lots of people doing this with the Galaxy Nexus, but I wasn't sure if it would work with the i777. I know what I'll be doing with my next Amazon gift card.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
Now THIS is the kind of inductive charging mod I wanted to see!
Saving the pics for later, just in case.
I see that you have a case on your S2 in the first picture, does the inductive charging work through cases?
Hasn't this been done on the sgsiiet?
Sent from Optimus-Prime's SGSII
mfreywald said:
Very nice, only problem I see is you should of posted to the accessories forum. But overall a very nice mod and the directions were clear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, good point about the Accessories forum. I didn't think of that.
f1456 said:
Nice mod! Thanks for posting it up. What's the difference in charging time compared to charging via USB?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't timed it, but it's not significantly slower. I'm not sure what the difference is, though, because I just stick it on the charger when I go to bed and wake up and it's charged. But when I was testing it, it seemed to charge at a rate slightly slower than the USB charger.
quarlow said:
Sweet, the TouchStone has been one of my favorite features with my TouchPad. I saw lots of people doing this with the Galaxy Nexus, but I wasn't sure if it would work with the i777. I know what I'll be doing with my next Amazon gift card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. If you have any questions let me know. And send me a message when you get it working.
Ashhong said:
I see that you have a case on your S2 in the first picture, does the inductive charging work through cases?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You, my friend, have incredibly sharp eyes. I'm using a bumper case - so there's no backing to it. I don't know how well the system would work with a real case, but I'd assume you'd lose some charging current/efficiency by increasing the gap.
Optimus-Prime said:
Hasn't this been done on the sgsiiet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but not as far as I know on an i777 and the internal routing is a bit different from SGS2 model to model.
This is a cool idea. Maybe make a side job out of it for those that don't have the patience or time to do it? I work in electronics for the semiconductor industry so I have the hardware skills but between life and work i don't know if/when i will find time to get around to doing it. Just wanted to suggest it to ya since it is a really cool idea. Thanks for sharing it.
Sent From My KickAss ATT SGS2 SPORTING my CobraRom
Nice. Would you be willing to post some higher res pictures showing the contact placement and the inductive coil installed on the back panel?
Also, were the inductive coil contacts labeled, or did you have to figure out which one was VCC and which was ground?
I've been meaning to attempt this mod after I saw a Galaxy S video showing it.
Can I get a picture of the back of the phone after everything is complete? Without the case, ofc.
sjwaste said:
Nice. Would you be willing to post some higher res pictures showing the contact placement and the inductive coil installed on the back panel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can do ones of the inductive coil, but I'm not going to take the phone apart again... I should have taken better phones when I had it apart last night... but every time I need to put it back together, it takes a while. I think what we have will have to serve.
There's only one resistor near the USB connector so even though the photo is a bit blurry, if you take the phone apart, you'll see right away which one it is. There's not much there... just a capacitor (the yellow thing) a small IC (the black thing) and then the surface mount resistor (the orange thing in the photo).
As far as the coil, I just peeled it off of the Palm Pre kit and stuck it on the case of the i777. The only thing was lining up the contacts so that they matched the places that I put the copper tape. For that I used to back plastic that was off the phone, that the back cover would attach to, attached it as if the phone was together, and then eyeballed it from the other side.
Also, were the inductive coil contacts labeled, or did you have to figure out which one was VCC and which was ground?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used a multimeter to check. But the contact farthest from the coil is 5V, and the other, the inside one closer to the coil, is GND.
yahoowizard said:
Can I get a picture of the back of the phone after everything is complete? Without the case, ofc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks like this:
It might look like the wire would interfere with a real SIM (instead of the microSIM that I have in there now) but it doesn't. Last week I was in Costa Rica and I had an ICE full SIM card in there and it worked fine. The wire doesn't push into the SIM card slot as much as it looks... or rather, you can tuck it under the plastic so that it's more out of the way.
Very snazzy. Got my parts in and going to complete this evening.
Stupid radio shack didn't have any copper tape tho...I'm going to try using the wire ends strategically placed and/or taped to get the same effect.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA
I tried it last night, but it didn't work for me. I'm trying to find out what I did wrong. I solder a wire to the resistor and to the touchstone cover directly to test. Then I wrapped the ground cable around a screw and screwed it down. The tester displays that the cables are receiving all 5 volts.
Mine seems to be a different model because that "U" that is next to the resistor in the picture appears to be on top of my resistor.
I'll keep trying to see if I can get it.
chilean03n said:
I tried it last night, but it didn't work for me. I'm trying to find out what I did wrong. I solder a wire to the resistor and to the touchstone cover directly to test. Then I wrapped the ground cable around a screw and screwed it down. The tester displays that the cables are receiving all 5 volts.
Mine seems to be a different model because that "U" that is next to the resistor in the picture appears to be on top of my resistor.
I'll keep trying to see if I can get it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NVM I got it to work!
I soldered only the right side of the resistor and it works flawlessly!
Sorry, I stopped reading the forum as things got busy at work.
chilean03n said:
NVM I got it to work!
I soldered only the right side of the resistor and it works flawlessly!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. Congrats.
Mine is still working great too.
For the copper tape, I should have elaborated on that. I bought it at Michael's (a hobby/craft store). I think hobby stores that have supplies for making jewelry have it. I tried Radio Shack as well and they had no idea what I was talking about. Amazon has it too. But I think the cheapest option is a place like Hobby Lobby or Michaels or any other jewelry or stained glass window supply.
I tried aluminum tape - from Home Depot - but I had a really hard time soldering to it without soldering through it. Someone at work recommended copper tape instead.
Also, someone on another forum (I'm the moderator of the mobile devices forum at Anandtech) mentioned that their back cover has been popping off. This hasn't been a problem that I've had much - very rarely a corner will pop off after a day in my pocket, but otherwise everything fits pretty well. If people have problems with that, one could move the coil further down on the back cover and that should solve it. Or else you could use double-sided permanent tape from an office supply store and apply it to the inside cover where the cover is coming off.
I just picked up the parts to do this. $3 each for kits with charger and back from Amazon, so I picked up three. I have a couple of batteries that charge off USB that this could work for as well.
Test fit inside my otterbox commuter case seems ok, but will need more metal for the magnets in the charger to hang onto.
Tapped out by infinite monkeys on an Atari 800
just bought the parts to do this
just need the courage now
Sorry to bump an old thread, but this is an awesome mod.
@pfmahoney (or anybody else who has done this) have there been any adverse effects over time? I've read that on some other phones, you can't use the touchscreen while connected to the Touchstone. Is that the case on our model? I've also heard about overheating issues and compass issues. These reports were on other phones, though. Any thoughts?
Danation said:
Sorry to bump an old thread, but this is an awesome mod.
@pfmahoney (or anybody else who has done this) have there been any adverse effects over time? I've read that on some other phones, you can't use the touchscreen while connected to the Touchstone. Is that the case on our model? I've also heard about overheating issues and compass issues. These reports were on other phones, though. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you are right, you can't use the touchscreen while it's charging... well, actually, you can... just not the spot right in the middle. There's a circle about the size of the inductive coil that doesn't respond to input or responds erratically.
I haven't had any issues over time. I put it on the charger every night and it's been fine.
It does get a little warm, but not what I would consider excessively hot. I've had it get hotter playing games than it does on the inductive charger, but it definitely does warm up.
I have never noticed any issues with the compass - by issues, you mean the compass not working? I have never noticed that. I just tried the compass now and it seems to work fine... are these issues with the compass while it's charging? I've never tried that and I can imagine that there might be problems using the compass while it's charging inductively. If you need the compass while it's charging (for example in the car), you can always just plug it in to the USB plug - the inductive mod doesn't stop the regular USB plug from working.
Wondering if anyone has seen or knows of a right angle 40 pin charging connector? Either that or im hacking up a keyboard if i can find one cheap enough. Im dead set on getting this tab in my dash =D
Sent from my Transformer
What do you mean right angle? Do you mean so the cable is lines to to right rather than at the bottom on the sync/charge cable?
In that case - no, never seen. But its not super-hard to do it yourself. It will still stick stick out around 1cm though, because theres a PCB inside.
Although the PCB can be removed as well, but that requires some very fine soldering (we're talking pins that are like 0.7mm, if not less, with like 0.5mm spacing)
I had a hell of a time to just resolder the data cables on the cable, and the points are located on the PCB so theres only 2 'pins' near there. Soldering those cables on the connector itself would be.. ugh... *nightmares*
Lol no, no micro soldering for me. Just wondering if there has been or is or what miss match parts could possible go together to go from the existing 40 pin port down and back. Like a right angle but coming down and away from you. The ipads have em. But we arent comparing that crap here. I want to make a dock of sorts, to have fiberglassed in. Tab slides down and plugs in to charge. Thats why i mentioned hacking up a keyboard if need be.
Sent from my Transformer
Yeah ok. No I dont think theres any such cable.
But if you just want to angle the cable its quite easy, and if youre careful wont require any soldering.
All you need to do is open the cable up, cut a new hole for the cable in the casing, align it and reassemble it (it will probably have to be glued together again, or plastic welded, simple stuff really).
And even if you would manage to rip off the cables, the + and - cables are (relatively) big. ground is just soldered directly onto the shielding, and + is soldered to 3 pins next to each other, and theres only 1 other pin nearby you have to look out for, but that pin is sortof protected by some plastic thing (which will probably melt from the heat of the soldering iron though lol).
The hardest part of all this is actually opening the damn casing without damaging it too much
First let me apologize about the quality of the photos. I did the mod at around 3am in the morning and the lighting was lousy. Anyway, after months of searching for a good but relatively cheap QI solution for the G2 F320L, I decided to go ahead and mod it instead. It works great so far so I'm posting basic instructions and some pics so others can do the same and also learn from my mistakes in the process. Essentially what I did was connect the middle 2 pins of the extra 4 pins to a QI receiver coil mounted on the outer side of the phone's back cover. I don't know the actual polarity of the pins since I just did some trial and error with the QI coil and the 4 pins to figure out the correct ones. Oh and yes, I did a sucky job with the mod. Fortunately, none of it is visible once everything is in place.
Here's what you need:
1. 3rd party internal QI receiver coil - I used one that was designed for the Samsung Galaxy S3. You may be able to get more flexibility in positioning the receiver by getting one with a relatively long ribbon cable leading to the contacts instead. Also if the contacts area are as thin as the ribbon cable, you may get a neater result.
2. A working QI charger that has charging indicator LEDs - duh. But seriously, there's a number of things you may want to test before you start doing the mod and you want the indicator LEDs to tell you whether you're charging or not.
3. An extra back cover - I actually used the original back cover that came with the phone as it had physical damage already, but I recommend you get a cheaper third party back cover instead, just in case.
4. A two layer case with a soft inner layer and a not-so-thick, non-transparent outer layer - I used a Spigen Slim Armor case and it works marvelously. I have a Ballistic Shell case somewhere but since I can't find it at the moment, I can't check if it will work, but I do expect it will work too. (EDIT: I found my Ballistic Shell case, the mod will work with it and I'm considering modding it soon) Also, your QI charger will also determine whether or not the case of your choice works. Particularly, the charger's plastic cover on the charging surface combined with your chosen case's outer layer should be thin enough to still let you charge wirelessly. If the distance between the actual charger coil and receiver coil is too far, you won't be able to charge properly.
5. A small, sharp knife that can cut through the extra back cover and your chosen case's inner soft layer cleanly - I used one, but I just suck at cutting stuff.
6. A roll of thin double sided tape, and preferrably, also a roll of thick double sided tape - My receiver coil already had a thin strip of double sided tape so I ended up not needing anymore, but you might, even if your receiver coil has a strip of double sided tape too.
Ok, first thing you do is test, test, test. As far as I know, the extra 4 pins also exist on other F320 variants and that the QI pins are also there. Since I only have an F320L, I can't be sure for certain. Also, it's very unlikely, but it's possible that there are different F320L revisions with actual changes in wiring those 4 extra pins. So test everything before you start the modding. Do test your case's outer layer by putting it on the charging surface and putting the coil on the case, the outer layer that is, while it's on the QI charger. Chargers will detect if your a receiver coil is present but they can't detect if your coil is actually connected to something so you don't have to actually connect it to your phone yet. Don't keep the coil on the charging surface for more than a few seconds when it isn't connected though. Once the charger detects the receiver coil, it will start sending charge to the receiver and if the receiver can't send that charge elsewhere, it will just accumulate on the receiver's electronics which will cause it to overheat and eventually burn out. Once you're confident that everything works, then you can start the mutila- err cutting.
First thing you want to do is to cut a hole on the extra back cover such that you can make the receivers contacts connect with the QI pins on the phone without having to put the rest of the receiver inside the back cover. The receiver will be taped to the outside the back cover. If your receiver has a thin ribbon cable and with exposed copper surfaces an the end to serve as contacts, you can cut a small slit into the case that will let you insert the ribbon cable through. If you have the ribbon cable but with thick contacts, you'll need a bigger hole. If, like me, you only have a stub sticking out from the side of the receiver coil containing thick contacts, you will need a hole that exposes the QI pins on the phone. Before you start making the hole, make sure you plan on the actual position you will tape the receiver in so you can make as small a hole as possible. As you'll see on the photos, I didn't exactly plan it right.
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Once you're done with the back cover and installed it along with the receiver coil onto your phone, get your QI charger again and test your handiwork. Make sure the phone actually detects that you're charging. I was being a retard and proceeded along without testing at this point. :silly: Don't make the same mistake. Also, take note that I put a rubber tape shim on top of the receiver's contacts. This is because I have to push it down for the contacts to connect with the QI pins. It might not be necessary in your case, or it might. Do whatever you need to to make sure that the connection is secure. You don't want your receiver coil to burn out because the connection went lose while you were charging your phone at night when you're asleep.
Now, it looks rather ugly doesn't it? Well, that's where the two layer case comes in. If you just put the case on your phone right now though, you'll probably have a bulge on it where the receiver is. For the Spigen Slim Armor, you won't even be able to fit the outer layer properly. So go ahead and cut a hole on the inner layer to make room for your receiver. You should already be sure of your QI coil's positioning at this point so you can should cut a hole in the inner layer as precisely as you can. Here's a photo of my lousy worksmanship:
If you want to know how it looks like with the case's inner layer installed with the outer layer, use your imagination. What? Do you expect me to do everything for you? (Actually, I'm sorry. I forgot to take a photo. This is what happens if you do things at 3am in the morning. )
When you're done cutting a hole on your case's inner layer, go ahead and put the case on and test it out again. If that works, then you're now a proud owner of an LG G2 F320* with QI charging. :victory:
If it doesn't work, it's very likely that your case's outer layer is just too thick and you didn't test it beforehand. Good job. :good: Well, that, or your case's inner layer is so thick. If that's the case, you can remedy the problem by putting additional layers of double sided tape underneath the receiver coil to bring it closer to the charger's coil when charging. Ideally, the receiver coil's surface should be flush with your case's inner layer when installed. See end results below:
(yeah, this is an old battered case, but the nice thing about this particular one is that I can buy a new one and use the outer layer with my modded inner layer)
NOTES:
Your ROM might not be able to detect wireless charging, in which case, it will say you're charging via USB instead. In fact, unless you're using a ROM based on the G3's ROM, your ROM will probably not be able to differentiate between USB and wireless charging. I don't know if Tasker will be able to differentiate either. I'll make sure to post results of whatever I test.
The mod is sort of non-permanent. You can install an unmodded back cover (you didn't use the original one for the mod did you?) and nobody will be the wiser.
Repairs are easy with this mod. If you choose a receiver coil that's readily available in your area, if your receiver breaks, you can just remove it and replace it with the exact same receiver with very little fuss.
If you do the mod correctly, you can remove the back cover at will without fear of things falling apart. If you didn't do it correctly, well, too bad.
If you do the mod correctly, you can transfer the mod onto any other F320* if the QI pins are also in the same location. If you're an enterprising individual and can do the mod very cleanly, you can even sell your work. But please send me some Guinness if you do.
If you didn't sell your work but find this useful, feel free to send me some Guinness anyway.
If you didn't find this useful, eh, I'll still accept free Guinness.
So... Why not trying to fit one of those chinese QI wireless receiver modules inside? They look thinner. And after dissasembly one of them, maybe you'll get the same functionality as the one in the pics. Do you think it could fit inside?
thiago_oliv said:
So... Why not trying to fit one of those chinese QI wireless receiver modules inside? They look thinner. And after dissasembly one of them, maybe you'll get the same functionality as the one in the pics. Do you think it could fit inside?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thinnest ones I could find definitely do not fit inside without causing a very noticeable bulge on the back cover. Even a microSD card causes a noticeable bulge, so there's very little room between the back cover and the battery. An additional problem is that the NFC coil on the back cover will likely interfere with wireless charging. NFC works fine with the wireless charging coil on top of it.
Why didn't all g2's come with those pins...
Im thinking of trying this mod but keeping everything behind the cover, gonna get one of those chinese receiver pad's and run some thin wires to the 5v and ground on the usb connector... this should work right?
The other options is getting the verizon usb flex cable which seems identical to the d803 cable, even the connector near what i believe is the digitizer is the same size.
Has anyone tried this before?
peachpuff said:
Why didn't all g2's come with those pins...
Im thinking of trying this mod but keeping everything behind the cover, gonna get one of those chinese receiver pad's and run some thin wires to the 5v and ground on the usb connector... this should work right?
The other options is getting the verizon usb flex cable which seems identical to the d803 cable, even the connector near what i believe is the digitizer is the same size.
Has anyone tried this before?
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I expect it will work. I've seen a similar mod done to a OnePlus One. There's a couple of caveats though. For obvious reasons, Android will not be able to detect that you're using wireless charging and will assume that you're using a wire to charge. The 2nd caveat is that you cannot charge while you have a USB OTG device plugged in. You may be able to power the USB OTG device via the QI coil. That's normally a good thing, however, if your coil delivers too much current, something (the coil's electronics or the USB OTG device) will likely overheat and burn out if used long enough.
EDIT: I forgot to add that the NFC coil on the back cover will make it harder for you to get this to work, but it is possible. I've found though that certain coils just don't work unless the NFC coil is not in between the QI coil and the charger. It may be a charger related problem as well. You will need to find a coil and charger that will work despite the NFC coil being in between. Or you can just remove the NFC coil.
@jaybz
Hey I tried the same thing you did with everything you provided but its not working... The wireless pad lights up as charging but nothing indicating on the phone that its charging. Is there something Im missing?
Thank you
kountry83 said:
@jaybz
Hey I tried the same thing you did with everything you provided but its not working... The wireless pad lights up as charging but nothing indicating on the phone that its charging. Is there something Im missing?
Thank you
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It likely means that either your wireless charging coil is connected to the wrong pins, or they're not connected at all. Also make sure you're using a coil for the Galaxy S3 as those for other phones may have their polarity reversed.
jaybz said:
It likely means that either your wireless charging coil is connected to the wrong pins, or they're not connected at all. Also make sure you're using a coil for the Galaxy S3 as those for other phones may have their polarity reversed.
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I tested the pins with the multimeter for 5volts and ground and its making contact...
Ugh lol
kountry83 said:
I tested the pins with the multimeter for 5volts and ground and its making contact...
Ugh lol
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You sure it's the correct pins then? The ones you want are the middle 2 pins on that group of 4.
jaybz said:
You sure it's the correct pins then? The ones you want are the middle 2 pins on that group of 4.
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Yes the middle 2. The top pin of the middle 2 is 5volts and the bottom of the middle two is ground.
kountry83 said:
Yes the middle 2. The top pin of the middle 2 is 5volts and the bottom of the middle two is ground.
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Aside from a broken charging coil, or shorts somewhere, the only thing I can think of is that those 2 pins are not actually connected to the charging circuit on your phone like it is on mine.
jaybz said:
Aside from a broken charging coil, or shorts somewhere, the only thing I can think of is that those 2 pins are not actually connected to the charging circuit on your phone like it is on mine.
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Well I did just flash the lollipop update 2 days before I did this. Could that be a issue. I heard that lollipop has a bug for some qi devices...
kountry83 said:
Well I did just flash the lollipop update 2 days before I did this. Could that be a issue. I heard that lollipop has a bug for some qi devices...
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I suppose that's possible but I'm afraid I can't verify that myself since my G2's screen is broken.
I've read many horror stories about magnetic chargers tearing off the port from Z3's. I don't want to go there so I thought I ask if anyone had some DIY tricks to prevent such issues.
I have a cheap noname cable which has a decent magnet. It keeps the thing in place, the phone charges, but I have no idea if its strength is considered too strong or not. The phone is standing in a home made "dock" (an opened 8mm cassette case so probably doesn't really need that much adhesion to keep things attached.
My best idea is to fix the charging cable to the case so the stiff-ish cable holds up the head at level with the port. Then I'd file the magnet on the head until it's just enough to snap the head the right place when the phone is pushed against it. What do you think?
I bought a weaker magnetic that still took a bit of pull or wiggle to remove. Funny enough the magnetic charger itself broke, I just avoid them now
I've just compared the noname z3 mag cable to the one from the DK31 dock for the Z1: While their physical dimensions are exactly the same the 3rd party cable sports a decidedly stronger magnet.
It charges my Z1 fine, even from a PC usb port. (The DK31 doesn't have a limiter apparently so through it the phone tries to suck as much power as it can which makes the mobo turn off that USB port.)
I've just finished filing the magnet, now it's like an up side down arch, so has a curved valley in the middle, deep down to the level of the plastic casing. ~2mm (0.08 in) left untouched on both ends. It's keeps things in place roughly as strongly as the cable from a DK31 dock. And that is rather weak as the cable pushing against the table can twist off the head. Interestingly since the magnet now has two "feet" at the ends and is not a continuous surface it comes off more "softly", more gradually, kind of rolls off as opposed to the DK31 cable which you pull pull and suddenly the whole thing fully pops off.
I tried and the 3rd party cable fits nicely in the DK31 box. The only thing preventing me from using it to charge the Z3 is that the holder insert is 2mm too wide. It shouldn't be too much of a problem gluing textile in there to secure the phone but for now I'll see how the weakened head works just lying on the table.